


soundless sound of static

by dakhtar



Series: voltron crossovers [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Carlos is Lance's older brother, Gen, M/M, crossover nobody asked for, he came to night vale to search for lance, hopeful ending kind of, it gets weird, its all very sad but not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-21 14:34:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13743003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dakhtar/pseuds/dakhtar
Summary: “Six years ago–”“–said Carlos,” Cecil narrated.“–Six years ago my little brother disappeared.”





	soundless sound of static

**Author's Note:**

> first loki in the vld world and now the night vale peeps. also, i think i got a bit too nier automata at the end there, whoops. (also no pidge because headcanon after the garrison realised who she was they erased her entire existence to avoid the cluster**** that would bring. so mama holt has no clue and it's very sad.)

“Listeners,” crooned the familiar, sonorous voice. “Today, I asked Carlos – our beautiful, intelligent, Carlos – about what pushed him to become a scientist. We were at the Arby’s, grabbing a bite to eat, both of us staring into each other’s eyes as we partook in the meal that was forced upon us, and the curiousity suddenly crept up on me. What had gently steered our beloved Carlos towards the sciences, I wondered? What had made him decide, as a young child, to don the lab coat he so loyally wore and – to my assumption – never took off? Had the inclination to reach for beakers and calculators come to him later, as a teenager? Or had he been born with a Bunsen burner clenched between his frankly _amazing_ teeth?

“So I asked, dear listeners,” the voice explained, the gentle rise and fall of it a quite lull that wove one in deep. “I asked, ‘Carlos, dearest Carlos, what made you decide to become a scientist?’ He didn’t answer immediately, as usual; always so thoughtful with his words, you see. Common, amongst the scientist types. He instead took his time to mull over his answer, running a strong, bronzed hand through his perfect hair, and slowly put down his utensils as he came to an answer.”

The voice disappeared then, the sudden sense of life disappearing along with it, sucking the air dry of something valuable, of something that had previously been there but was no longer _there_.

And then. A voice.

A different voice.

A deeper voice.

“Six years ago–”

“–said Carlos,” Cecil narrated.

“–Six years ago my little brother disappeared.”

“Naturally,” Cecil picked up, easily sliding in to the space left behind by such a loaded sentence, “Naturally I was curious, listeners. Carlos had never mentioned family before, and I had merely assumed he’d been the victor of the vicious war we know as family. Perhaps, wherever Carlos hailed from, family was less… bloodier… than ours. Perhaps they actually survived past inception. But I wished to know more of this strangeness, of what this could have done to influence Carlos’ career path. I wished to understand what had happened to this little brother of Carlos’, and whether or not his disappearance could be attributed to our very own vague yet menacing government that had conveniently surged in activity in this very city six years ago.

And so I asked again, fellow citizens. I asked Carlos, ‘Do you know what happened to your little brother, Carlos?’ And he answered–”

“–No.” Carlos answered. “He disappeared while he was at school. Him and his friend – Hunk. Sweet kid. We grew close with his family after all it happened. All we could find out was that the school was lying to us, and that something had happened in a weird cave. Some strange drawings on the side. Of a lion? And we were able to hack the school’s record and found some reports, heavily redacted, that made it sound like the school didn’t know what had happened either.

“Someone took my little brother–”

“–said Carlos,” Cecil whispered.

“–And I’ve been thinking lately that maybe,” Carlos paused here, Cecil murmured into the mic, “That with all the- the _stuff_ that happens here in Night Vale, that maybe- maybe it wasn’t a some _one_ that took my brother, but a some _thing_.”

The airwaves wavered, distortion corrupting the connection before smoothing again once more. Cecil continued narrating, continued painting the picture of two living things sitting across from each other in a questionable restaurant with forceful catering, continued weaving it all into existence.

“So, anyway,” Carlos awkwardly returned to the original question. “After all that, after the weird readings and the even weirder information we were able to hack from the school, I decided to- to search for other weird things. To- to become a scientist. To try and figure out what other strange things have happened in this country, on this planet.”

“And so, Night Vale,” Cecil summarised, “Carlos became a scientist not because it was ordained for him by the creature that birthed him presumably known only as Mamá, but because of an absent little brother presumably forcibly plucked from his school, the-”

Static.

More static.

Carlos’ voice, distant and lost, buried in the static. “The school- the school- the school- the _school_ -”

Rewind.

“-chool the school the school _the school the school theschool theschooltheschooltheschooltheschoolthegschooltheschgalaxoolthe schooly garrison-“_

No more static.

Clear.

Silent.

Still.

“The school-” Carlos’ voice, “It was around here. On the city outskirts.”

This had not happened.

This did not exist.

Cecil was not narrating.

“It’s what actually brought my attention to Night Vale to begin with.”

The airwaves wave. Steady. In sync.

No static.

“They were even further out than Old Woman Josie’s place.”

A choir.

Heavenly.

Impossible.

“Had the whole place closed up like Fort Knox.”

This could not happen.

This could not exist.

CouLd nOt eXIsT-

“Shady. Unmarked vans. Lots of flying aircrafts that nobody ever knew anything about.”

_CoULD NoT EXIsT-_

_sTOp----_

“It was called the Galaxy Garrison.”

StOp-

“And yet after they disappeared, I could never find it again.”

sTOP—

“They were just… gone. Disappeared. As if they’d never existed. Nobody had ever heard of them, even though I _knew_ they existed, even though La–”

STOP-

-“Even though _Lance_ went there.”

Something bursts. Static overflows. Radio’s screech.

And far away, a million lightyears away, across nebulas and galaxies, a lone light pings on an empty dashboard.

“Listener,” croons a familiar, sonorous voice. “Though you may be far and wide-”

a door hisses open, a figure walks in.

“–Though you may feel lost and alone–”

the tall, lean figure stops. the tall, lean figure stills.

“–Know that you are loved, from afar.” sings the voice, airwaves shuddering as they fill the command center, as they light consoles and seats and places of power with auditory stimulation alone. “Know that beautiful, intelligent Carlos–”

A gAsP – _tHis CaNot ConTennnnnnnn Nuuuuuu-_ a wHIsPErEd, “CRLS?”

“–loves you, and remembers you fondly. You are loved. You are missed.”

Static. Quiet.

Static. Building up.

Static. Loud.

“ _CoME HomE.”_

Static. Cut.

Silence.

And in the suddenly darkened command central of the castle of lions, Lance stands frozen, skin pale, as he listens to-

“–IS MESSAGE HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED BY THE SHERIFF’S SECRET POLICE. YOU HAVE HEARD NOTHING. YOU HAVE SEEN NOTHING. YOU SHALL SPEAK OF NOTHING. THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED BY THE SHERIFF’S SECRET POLICE. YOU HAVE HEARD NOTHING. YOU HAVE SEEN NOTHING. YOU SHALL SPEAK OF NOTHING. THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED BY THE SHERIFF’S SECRET POLI–”

Static.

Click.

Silence.

**Author's Note:**

> for the low, _low_ price of $5.99, you - yes, _you!_ \- can join me at [my tumblr](https://na-jaax.tumblr.com)! join now, while the offer's still fresh!


End file.
